Rd.1 Night Event Recap – Season 4 / 2016

The Season 4 of Vtec Club kicked-off last Saturday on August 13, 2016 at the winding road course of Streets of Willow. Some of Southern California’s biggest Honda track-fanatics gathered together to have fun in the ever unique setting of a track event at night (dusk to dawn), and most importantly, to re-unite with their fellow enthusiasts.

The Round 1 event had a total of 68 drivers with many familiar faces as well as some new ones. Smiles and laughter filled the air as the short break from Season 3 gave everyone a chance to replenish their builds (and wallets) and come back stronger and re-energized for another season of Vtec Club USA.

Group N2 – 21 Drivers

Kristian Wong – Integra – 1:29.772 *New N2 Record*

Scott Dukeshire – Civic – 1:30.160

Robert Choo – Civic – 1:30.430

Group N2 was lead by Kristian Wong from Battle Craft in his D16Z6-powered Integra with a super fast time of 1:29.772! This is also the new N2 record for the counter-clockwise configuration at Streets of Willow. Kristian reports that he had issues with his brakes which kept him from going even faster! Nonetheless, we’re glad to see him and his car be competitive in one of the toughest class in Vtec Club. In second place, we had Scott Dukeshire in the “Speed-Daddy” EF Civic with a time of 1:30.160! Scott was reluctant to have his good friend Brandon Cruz allow him to co-pilot his newly developed N2 Civic, which was built by Robert Choo at Chewerks who came in third place with a time of 1:30.430. Rob reports that he had engine issues which may be forcing him to swap out for a fresh engine.

Group N – 23 Drivers

Clement Kwong – S2000 – 1:26.930

Sean Mulyanto – S2000 – 1:27.462

Alan Jaquias – S2000 – 1:27.607

It’s no surprise that Group N had the biggest field of drivers at this event. The rivalry between S2000s and swapped-FF cars is an on-going one in this series. Unfortunately for the FFs, the S2000s got the best of them during this round as the top 5 cars were all S2000s! In first place, we have Clement Kwong with an incredibly fast time of 1:26.930. Clement has been one of our longest active competitors who specifically bought an S2000 just to join our series. We’re very happy to see him climb his way up and be able to battle it out among the top drivers in Group N. For second place, we have Sean Mulyanto in the Chewerks’ S2000 with a time of 1:27.462. Sean reports that he ran into a head-gasket issue which forced him to retire the car early. And in third place is Alan Jaquias in yet another Chewerk’s S2000 with a time of 1:27.607. AJ returned this season with a newly self-built engine after his mishap during last season’s event at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.

Group A2 – 18 Drivers

Matt Rojana – S2000 – 1:24.948 *New A2 Record*

Brandon Camacho – S2000 – 1:26.509

Amir Bentatou – NSX – 1:26.784

Matt Rojana once again led the class of Group A2 in the Ballade Sports’ S2000. Matt was able to run a new personal best and record for A2 with a time of 1:24.948! It’s amazing to see Matt continuously improve his times and driving. And we can’t help but wonder if there’s anyone who will be able to truly challenge his times. In second, Brandon Camacho followed with a time of 1:26.509 in yet another S2000. Brandon has been one of our first competitors since we started the series but has been away revamping his car. We hear that he will be actively competing this season to hopefully make the steep climb to first place. And in third is Amir Bentatou in the Marvelous Tune x Nemo’s Garage NSX with a time of 1:26.784. Amir had issues with his rear wheel bearing which prevented him from being able to push his times even faster. We’re excited to see the progress with his NSX and looking forward to see how Honda’s flagship car compete against this bunch of fast cars.

Group A – 6 Drivers

Ryan Cubidez – S2000 – 1:24.178

Nik Romano – Miata – 1:24.184

Alex Zhao – S2000 – 1:28.008

The front runner of Group A comes in a familiar Kraftwerks-powered S2000 that was once piloted by another top driver from our series who still holds many of the track records in Group A. The car however is owned by Ryan Cubidez who has taken initiative this year to pilot and enjoy the car where it belongs, at the track. And with a time of 1:24.178, Ryan was able to grab the first place finish and also the fastest time of the day! Great to see his return and we hope to see him at every events. In second place came Nik Romano, who was last year’s Group A champion, with a time of 1:24.184 in the F20C-powered Miata. And in third place was Alex Zhao, from Arcane Wheels, in yet another Kraftwerks-powered S2000. Alex was able to put down a time of 1:28.008. An early mishap caused his alignment to be off which made the car a full-chore to drive. Nevertheless, Alex pushed the car enough to capture another podium finish.

We want to congratulate everyone who was able to improve on their personal best record and to all of our class winners who fought hard for their position on the podium. There were definitely a lot of fast and impressive times across the board, and it’s amazing to see the big improvements everyone has made not only to their cars, but their driving!

Round 2 is only a month away and it will be held at Auto Club Speedway on September 24. Please be sure to subscribe to our page for updates and coverage of our future events.

Be sure to check our new video of the Rd.1 Night Event at Streets of Willow. Enjoy!

VTEC Club USA

VTEC Club is an all-Honda time-trial series that is based in the road-courses of Southern California. We are proud to be the host of the largest and most active competitors for a one-make time trial series and we welcome all driving levels to take part and experience the fun, friendly, and competitive atmosphere of the VTEC Club series.